AAR RB4 TO THE RESCUE

Played: 2/9/03

Germans: Eric Henyey
Russians: Dan Owsen

This is actually the second time Eric and I played this scenario. We went through it once and afterwards I realized that I had set up some Russians illegally. So, we decided on a rematch, this time I made sure that I set up correctly.

In this scenario, the Germans are sending in a force from the 100 Jaeger Division to rescue some of their trapped fellows in Stalingrad. The trapped forces are all fanatic, and have a wounded 8-1 leader. There is an LV hinderance of +1 at a range of 0-6, plus and additional +1 at ranges over 6 due to darkness. This makes the already tough terrain around the Red Barricades factory even stronger. The Russians, having just snuck into the area in the gathering darkness, are spread out. The set-up conditions are a little tricky; you can only set up 2 squads in each vertical hex row of the map, and you have to set up in a trench, building or rubble. The Russians also have to set up at a distance from the trapped Germans who set up first. This restriction creates a very spread out Russian line. In addition, the Russians can only move a maximum of 1-3 leaderless squads per turn. Because of the set-up, this scenario seems like it has tons of replay value.

My analysis:

GERMAN ADVANTAGES:

Lots of decent quality guys. The rescuing force is strong, has good leaders and can come into the battle in a concentrated force. Because of the restrictions on the Russian set-up, in an ordinary situation this force should punch through the line fairly easily. But this is Stalingrad, and it’s getting dark out… Although it’s kinda gamey, the rescuing force does not count against any CVP—they can pretty much kamikaze into the Russians in an effort to rescue their trapped comrades.

Fanatic trapped guys. It is probably a good idea to put a fanatic counter on the guys you are going in to resuce. It helps keep track of which guys are good for victory points.

Tactical Flexibility. The Germans do not have any movement restrictions. Also, the German set-up somewhat dictates the Russian set-up. I believe that a clever set-up of the initial German forces is crucial to success in this scenario for the Germans.

GERMAN DISADVANTAGES:

Tough Victory Conditions. The Germans have to rescue 5 VP of the trapped forces, out of a total of 13 VP. With bloodthirsty Russians and rough terrain to move through this is tough.

LV Hinderance. This is an advantage and disadvantage to both sides, but I think it helps the Russian defense a bit more.

RUSSIAN ADVANTAGES

Lots of OK quality guys. The Russians have 15 squads at start with 3 more coming in as reinforcements. Toe to toe they are equal in number to the Germans. If the Russian leaders can gather their troops and move in force to good blocking positions, the German task will be very difficult, as attacking with equal numbers is a recipe for disaster.

Stealthy. Close combat is the Russian’s friend in Red Barricades. They can afford to trade squad for squad in this one, especially against the trapped guys. Declare HTH and wipe them all out. Oh, the Russians also have Booby Traps but they never came into play in our game.

RUSSIAN DISADVANTAGES

Movement restrictions. These can hurt bad, but are not impossible to overcome. Setting up with an eye to consolidating your forces with leaders is important. Also, don’t forget to advance during the Advance Phase!

Variable Reinforcements. Your reinforcements, 3 squads and an 8-0 are very important, and their timely arrival can make the difference in this one. They enter on a dr less than the turn number. It’s even possible, though unlikely, that you may not get them at all….

RUSSIAN SET-UP

I wanted to create a good line of containment around the trapped forces, as well as create a good strong point in the direct avenue of approach to the trapped forces. So, I put the 8-1 leader in the blocking force and the 7-0’s job was to round up the forces in the line and move to where the fighting was. Here is my set-up:

W8 ? 8-1, 447/lmg
W10 ? 447/mmg
X6 ? 527
X9 447
Y14 ? 447/mtr
Z7 HIP 527 (this guy is not included in the set-up restriction)
Z10 ?527
Z14 527
BB13 ? 7-0, 447
BB14 527
CC13 Trench, 447
CC14 Trench, 527
DD15 447
DD16 447

GERMAN SET UP
I didn’t write down the details of the German set up. Most of the trapped guys set up on the river bank, but a few set up in the house in CC10, undoubtedly to push back my set up (I have to set up three or more hexes away from the Germans).

Turn 1A. The Germans start out in the big central factory (O10). As they move in around the Russian north flank, W8 draws first blood with a lucky shot and breaks a stack of guys. A large portion of the trapped forces head north along the river. Some trapped guys stayed behind in the house around CC10. This is one strategy that the German can attempt—just run everyone away along the river banks and try to get back into the city from one of the gullies.

Turn 1B. Some of the broken Germans rally. I roll well for movement and get to move 3 squads. The guys in CC13 and CC14 go to the leader in BB13.

Turn 2A. Germans continue to move around the north flank, it’s apparent that they are going to try to link up in the north so I am going to try to start moving guys up there. I start to think that I set up too strongly to the south. Fortunately my 7-0 now commands three squads, and he will be the damage control—I hope. The German movement in the north is slowed a little by a few more guys breaking. I have to say that the Russians had pretty decent dice throughout the game.

Turn 2B. I only get to move 1 guy this time, but my 7-0 is leading troops up from the south.

Turn 3A. More German movement to the north. The trapped guys are slowly making their way out of the gully and have managed to keep their concealment as they get into the house in Z1…. A fateful decision as it turns out. Only Leninski Prospect keeps the trapped men from a reunion with their rescuers.

Turn 3B. Luckily, I roll for my reinforcements. They can enter on the north or south edge on or east of hexrow Y. Seeing those juicy targets in the Z1 building, I set up to move on board in row Z. The German holds his fire as I assault move into Z0. I advancing fire everyone but the leader to see if I can get rid of the concealment, but no dice. I advance into Z1 for a HTH combat. No ambush, but as a result of this combat, the Germans lose 1 squad, leaving one remaining in the melee.

Turn 4A. The melee in Z1 ends with German elimination, but the Russians still have two squads surviving plus the leader.

Turn 4B. The reinforcements move into Z2 and eliminate some German dummies there. This leads to the realization that the fellows who remained behind near the CC10 house are real, and therefore must be eliminated. It was kind of cheesy during this scenario to see my 7-0 leader run north from his position south of the trapped Germans, only to later in the game run back south when the dummies were revealed.

Turn 5A. Realizing that the safety of the southern trapped guys from CC10 is essential (I believe there were 2 squads there, the wounded leader got killed but he was with them), the Germans start moving south. In the meantime, one half-squad from the northern escapees crosses Leninski Prospect in the north and is as good as rescued.

Turn 5B. Russians react, trying to stop the Germans from heading south. The defenders in the north hold steady pretty well. The southern defenses look like they are going to get penetrated by the two escaping squads.

Turn 6. I don’t recall the exact sequence of events but the German squads don’t make it out as they break from fire, and thus the game ends. It seemed like they had an outside chance of making it but it just wasn’t to be. Throughout the game I had some good luck when I needed it. If I recall correctly, we didn't have any sniper activations in this game!

AFTERMATH
As the Russians, make sure you set up so you can consolidate your forces around a leader for movement flexibility. This is a great use for the 7-0. The 8-1 should direct defenses in a blocking position around building W8. You need to force the Germans to go around a central strong point and make it as difficult as possible for the rescuers to go right through the middle. I do think it would be possible for the Germans to punch through the middle of the line if they concentrate their forces. The trapped Germans should probably either split up, some heading north and others heading south, along the rive bank. Splitting up does pose a challenge to the Russians, you will not be able to react due to the movement restrictions. You could also hunker down and wait for the rescuers…

Overall I would recommend this scenario highly and it has very high re-play value. It seems just a little tough on the German but I bet it could be done. Anyone else who has played it, please post your thoughts. Wondering about keys to German strategy here, also any ideas on Russian set-up (though I was pretty happy with mine).